Seismic Performance of Recycled Aggregate Geopolymer Concrete-Filled Double Skin Tubular Columns with Internal Steel and External FRP Tube

Behavior of a Precast Bridge Pier with Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (BFRP)-Strengthened Segments under Seismic Loading

The precast segmental column (PSC) has been proposed for reducing onsite construction time and minimizing impacts on traffic and the environment. It has been proven to have good seismic performance according to previous studies. However, due to the rocking behavior of the column, the toe of the bottom segment could experience excessive compressive damage. In addition, the commonly used steel rebars in the PSC could experience corrosion problems during the service life of the structure. Moreover, ordinary Portland cement concrete (OPC) is normally used in the construction of the PSC, but the manufacturing processes of the OPC could emit a lot of carbon dioxide. This paper investigates the seismic performance of PSCs incorporating Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) bars and geopolymer concrete (GPC) segments. To mitigate the concrete crushing damage of the segment, the BFRP sheet was used to wrap the bottom segment of one of the specimens. The results revealed that the BFRP-reinforced geopolymer concrete PSC exhibited good seismic performance with minimal damage and small residual displacement. Strengthening the bottom segment with BFRP wrapping proved to be effective in reducing concrete damage. As a result, the column with BFRP wrap demonstrated the ability to withstand ground motions with higher Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) compared to the column without strengthening.

Numerical Study on the Axial Compressive Behavior of Steel-Tube-Confined Concrete-Filled Steel Tubes

To improve the concrete confinement and mechanical properties of concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns, a new configuration of steel-tube-confined concrete-filled steel tube (T-CFST) columns has recently been developed, in which an outer steel tube is employed externally, and the additional tube does not sustain the axial load directly. This preliminary experimental study revealed that, due to the effective concrete confinement by the outer steel tube, the T-CFST column achieves higher compressive strength and more ductile deformation compared to the CFST columns of the same steel ratio. In this study, two finite element (FE) models were developed for the T-CFST cross-section and stub column, respectively. The numerical study results revealed that the concrete can be constrained by the outer steel tube at the beginning of loading and the outer steel tube hoop stress can reach its yield strength at the column's compressive strength, showing its effective confinement to the concrete. Numerous data were generated by the developed FE model to cover a wide range of parameters. Based on that, the calculation methods for the stress components of the inner and outer steel tubes are proposed. Finally, a suitable prediction method is proposed, utilizing the superposition method to determine the compressive strength of the T-CFST stub column, and the results of the calculation method and FE model agree well with each other. This research is the basis for promoting further research of T-CFST columns.